Roomy enough to hold a family of four, the car was designed to rocket down highways without a driver, since highways of the future would control vehicles by wire.

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One day, the company's engineers hope, drive-by-wire could link to the fancy cruise-control, lane-maintenance and vehicle-separation systems that are already being used in some Mercedes models.

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In 2004 Mercedes-Benz faced customers complaints that its Sensotronic brake-by-wire system - which used an electrical link to control vehicles' brake pads - sometimes failed.

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For a photo at the finish line, she has to use remote control, which leaves a lot of room for error a loose wire, a bad angle, interference from mud or rain.

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Unlike other aircraft where the pilot's controls are manually attached to the flaps and rudders, Airbus 330 airliners are equipped with a "fly by wire" system that sends electronic signals from an onboard computer to move key control surfaces.

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